Ed. note: A full review of the Taurus 740 has been posted.
Taurus has taken their popular Slim 9mm pistol and chambered it in .40 S&W as the 740. The Taurus 740 SLIM offers many of the same features of the original 9mm version, with a respectable increase in power.
Introduced at the 2010 SHOT Show, Taurus stated the 740 SLIM was developed due to “overwhelming customer demand.”
The 19 ounce .40 S&W handgun holds six rounds in the magazine plus one in the chamber. The thin, polymer frame is less than one-inch in width. Sights are low profile to reduce catching on clothing, but are still visible enough to be useable.
The Taurus 740 uses a Glock-like trigger safety, and has an external safety (sweep down to fire.) The new Slim also has a loaded chamber indicator.
The 740 is available with either a blued slide, or a stainless finished slide. The 740 SLIM has the standard Taurus lifetime warranty.
Other articles that will amaze you:
- Taurus 709 SLIM Pistols a Reality: Information from the SHOT Show
- High Noon Holsters for Taurus 709 Slim and Sig Sauer P238
- Taurus 809 9mm Pistol: New Taurus 800 Handgun Series Based on the Taurus OSS Pistol
- New Taurus Guns at the 2009 SHOT Show
- Taurus 845 .45 ACP Pistol and 840 .40 S&W Pistol: New Taurus 800 Handgun Series Based on the Taurus OSS Pistol
Looks like a very nice gun. I was thinking about getting the 709 when/if I get a CCW, but I think this is a better alternative. Any news on when it will be available to the public?
Wish I waited before buying the 709. Well gotta get this one too. When is it coming out?
THEY ARE OUT NOW! GET ONE! i HAVE THE 709 THAT IS MY PRIMARY CARRY WHEN I GET MY 740 THE 709 WILL BE MOVED TO 2ND STRING THEN THE 740 WILL BE MOVED TO PRIMARY
I called Taurus the other day and asked when the 740 will be available and they said by the end of the year. Not very specific if you ask me so I guess I have to wait…
Just bought 2 of these and they are sweet.
Just bought mine today. Planned on getting a 9mm, but at the last moment saw the 40 was less expensive. Also, I already have one 40 and can share the ammo cache. If I would have bought the 9, I would have also needed to spend a couple hundred on ammo to start my supply.
Anyway, just cleaned a bit of packing grease off and have it prepped for testing maybe tomorrow. I hope the recoil is manageable. I am thinking that my cache of Federal HST 135 g will work well in this pistol. We will see.
Love it. Shot a bit low but adjusted sights and ok now. Recoil is “snappy” and it tapped my index finger once, but very manageable. I would say it almost compares in recoil to my 2 inch 357 with a light load. the Federal 135s are sweet. I have now shot several types of ammo and no FTF or FTF, wonderful fist full of power with this very concealable 40. Recoil is enough that I won’t be shooting daily, but that is not what I bought it for, this is a conceal carry piece that will do the job. See me shooting here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO1OACbSOpc
thanks for the info, I have had the 709 slim for a while now and have put many rounds down range with it ,and I love it,, easy to conceal and easy to handle and deploy if needed.. I just ordered the PT-740 and will get it next week, I am very interested to see how it does..
Just picked the 740 slimdesign, Has a little recoil but great gun to handle. Really nice for a person with a small hand.
Picked one up yesterday and did the first series of tests today. About 100 rounds of practice ammo and 20 rounds of duty type ammo. No Failures to load. fire or eject. Mixed duty types with practice ammo for one magazine, no problems.
Like TY says above, mine shot low to the left a little. Will be adjusting the sights.
Recoil with duty ammo is obviously more than with practice ammo. But either way very easy to manage.
End result is I am very happy being able to carry a .40 cal as easliy as I used to carry my .380 PPK/S. Probably lighter too.
I already had thePT709 and extremely pleased with it.
I just picked up the PT740 yesterday and got a few rounds through it and I absolutely love it.
I wanted the gun for carry and I think both are excellent for that.
Very slim, easy to shoot, and won’t bog you down all day as my glock does.
I may give my son the 9mm as he really has been bugging me about getting him one (I’ll keep the 40 for myself / he will be mad but . . . . . )
Some seem to compare apples to oranges (target / plinking practice to a carry firearm) and I don’t think any of the smaller firearms get a fare review that way.
For the purpose, I don’t feel you can go wrong with either of these.
Price is great (got mine for 369.95) / size if fantastic / accuracy is good, if my wife were only that nice.
Tom,
Thanks for posting your experiences with the 709 and 740 pistols. I really appreciate your feedback.
-Richard
I just got this a few weeks ago and put about 150 rounds through it, still fiddling with the rear sights but so far it delivers well. I bought this for the concealed carry. At first I use my handloads which are lighter, today I used Federal rounds with 180 grain which has more punch. I would be in fear being on the business end of the gun with 7 rounds loaded. The gun comes with two clips but I may buy a third on the case I carry it concealed. It does have the trigger safety as well as the left side like the 1911′s have as well. All I can say that I have no regrets in buying one.
Bought a PT740 and shot it for the first time yesterday. To my surprise it double-fired on 1 trigger pull on the 3rd shot. Next magazine it triple-fired on the second shot. I really like the size and feel of this gun but right now I have ZERO confidence in it. This morning I took it back to the dealer and they are shipping it back to Taurus-4 wks! So far I’m not too impressed. I hope it gets better and quickly.
I have had a 740 for about two months and put about 400 rounds through it. Not a single stoppage issue to this point. While doing the 400 rounds I did not clean it for 300 rounds waiting for stoppage and got none. Passed the reliability test and now a daily carry. Easy to conceal. Only complaint I could have is, even with the adjustable sight it tends to still shoot a little low left and I need to compensate. Plan to contact Taurus about that. I had a Walther PPS in .40 that I loved, but even after two trips back to S&W it was not dependable enough to carry & it cost $600. Am surprised and happy with my Taurus.
Got the gun just before Christmas, fired about 150 rounds and the gun shot low and left every time even with 4 different kinds of ammo. Reqar sight would not adjust far enough to bring it in so I returned it to Taurus. Now the nightmare begins….I was told they had to replace th barrel and slide and they had to come from Brazil and could take a month to get. After 5 weeks I lost my patients and demanded a replacement gun since mine was defective right out of the box, it is not like I had had it for 6 months and something went wrong with it. Finally they agreed to send a replacement but it has to be sent to a dealer and I have to pay the $25.00 transfer fee. Called them today to see if the replacement had been shipped as promised and they said no that they had pulled 2 guns and test fired them and the managers comment was “they both shot like crap” wow, what a confidence builder. He said they were pulling 2 more to test fire. I assume that someone else with get the other two because I am sure they will not throw them away. The other bad comment is that I purchased the gun (along with a 2nd gun) from Cheaper Than Dirt thinking I could save some money and when I contated them about helping with the $25 transfer fee they basically laughed at me. If I would have purchased directly from a dealer I am sure I would have gotten some help. Not real happy right now….
Got the stainless 740 a couple of weeks ago. As others have stated it shot low and to the left out of the box. After adjusting the rear sight a lot and putting around 200 rounds through it I was able to get it back on center but still a tad low. This was at 15yds. I compensated my sight picture and feel that if needed I could deliver an on target shot. My only complaint is, compared to my Glocks; it has or feels like it has an extremely long trigger pull. I was using 180 grain Federal loads and the gun handled extremely well. One thing people need to remember is that this gun was designed for concealability and is not IMO going to shoot tight groups at longer distances. For what it was designed to do (concealment of a larger caliber gun) I think it does well and am happy with my purchase.
Just bought one. Would like it to have a clip that holds more rounds. Sales person told me an extended clip would be coming out later this year (2011). Good size for Concealed Carry. Clip eject sticks at times. That’s about it. I like the fact it has a safety. Not a bad weapon, as it has 2 dots up close and 1 at far end of barrel for sighting. I can deal with the clip eject if future clips will hold more rounds.
Just got back from the range. Put about 200 rounds through the piece. Got a good site picture. Able to hold a tight sight group at 25 years. NOT firing low left, as so many others.
Zero FTFs. Had to use a Fast Loader to pack the clip. Putting six in it wore the thumb numb. This is an excellent deep concealment piece, which is exactly what I bought it for. Recommended
Had this gun about 4 months with approx 200 rounds fired, no failures or misfires of any kind. Seems to kick slightly more than my Smith Snubbys with +P ammo, but still manageable. Would not recommend as a first gun, but the experienced handgunner will will have no problem. Has both trigger & thumb safety which is not a bad thing. Overall a very good concealment handgun for those wanting a reasonably priced but effective weapon. Am 65 years old and have owned many handguns of most major brands and have found that Taurus makes a fine firearm, If you like the gun buy it.
I just purchased and received the TAURUS 740 slim. As others have stated, it shot low and to the left most of the time. Cannot rely on sights set by the factory. This gun is, at best, a back up weapon and should not be you’re first choice to reach for.
I have put approx. 50 rounds of .40 cal S&W Winchester blunt nose through it, with many, many failures to load properly. When I switched to .40cal rond nose(another 50 rounds) that I had on hand. it worked fine. This gun needs to be cleaned and worked with on a regular basis. It’s hard to condemn a handgun on this little use, but, I worry about the mis-loading. Mags were factory made(Taurus) with a Pearce mag extenderm as I have a decent size hand and need the little extra grip help.
I am going to contact Taurus about this little banger, and tell about my issues.
I also have a .45 cal Taurus 24/7 – with no failures to date.
Have to say, if I had known about the ammo. sensitivity of this weapon, I may not have been so anxious to buy it. I based a lot of my decision on results of my .45 cal and the reviews of many. Reviews are difficult to gauge, as some individuals are not that
great at accurate accessments. Different people have different expectations of results.